Reviews by Reaper16:

Pours a silky looking sepia brown with some dark reddish highlights. You certainly can't see through it, but it's also a lighter shade of brown that I expected (given the amount of imperial stout in the blend; the barleywines win out in terms of appearance). Over one finger of lightish khaki head sits on top. Little head retention, but that's OK. Pretty nice looking glass of beer.

The first attack of the nose is all barrels and booze. The french oak is unmistakable, and the beer is (unfortunately) not at all shy about showing its ABV%. Vanilla from the oak, and some other kind of sweetness that is hard to place... something like an Almond Joy candy bar? A small bit of chocolate malt character, some nuttiness for sure, and a small amount of coconut. Some caramel comes into play, too. Nothing really original coming from the nose, but it smells like a consistent beer (and not the Frankenstein's Monster hodgepodge that blended beers can be).

That coconut I was picking up on in the nose is certainly present on the tongue. Almond Joy for sure: milk chocolate, nuttiness, plenty of toasted coconut sweetness. Vanilla too -- those oak barrels are up front and heavy -- along with some astringency. A small, small touch of leafy hops are discernible. As the beer warms, the alcohol muscles itself into the room. I had to ask my bartender if she knew what barrels were used, because I was picking up a major spirit character. The combination of coconut and toasted sweet flavors and the bit of brown sugar that opened up, along with the alcohol, makes me taste a bit of rum. If you like run or coconut-chocolate bars then this is the beer for you.

The mouthfeel is fine. It isn't very thick, actually, but it is pleasantly smooth and silky across the tongue. Good stuff, overall. I am not the biggest coconut fan, but I can recognize how good this beer is. It's best trait is that it is remarkable smooth and balanced for its style, and that it tastes like a coherent, cohesive beer. It doesn't taste like a blend of many, many beers. It tastes like a singular vision. The blenders at Firestone Walker are to be commended for this. (2,204 characters)

Thanks to mar for sharing this bottle. I have been looking forward to this one.

The beer pours a dark brown coilor with a white head. The aroma is a disappointment. It it not bad, but it is not what I was expecting. I get a lot of soy and toffee, as well as some leather. I also get something that resembles trash. Hopefully the flavor will be better.

For the flavor, I get a lot of roasted malt and chocolate, which is coupled with a lot of barrel-aging characteristics. I get a nice amount of oak and maple, as well as quite a bit of vanilla. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Luckily, the flavor was much better than the aroma, which salvaged this beer. Glad I got to try this one. (697 characters)

Black. Expected lighter given the other beers in the blend that aren't stouts. Bourbon dominated nose.

Easy drinking for the abv. Muddles all the beers blended, I can't taste Parabola or Velvit Merlin, etc. . . but it is interesting. Bourbon is heavy, but not as much as its aroma was. A little bit of everything else, chocolate, oak, vanilla, rummy sweetness, brandy, some other kind of wood heavier than oak, chicory? Not too thick, actually on the thinner side of most beers in this abv range. Maybe a kick of dark sugar.

While this was great fresh on tap, I think it definitely has the build to age miraculously. Of my bottles, I'm going to hang on to all of them for at least one year I think. This really seems ageable. (729 characters)

This beer pours a very dark brown color that when held up to the light just barely shows a slight dark mohogany color. It boasts a thin light brown head that fades fast, leaving no lace.

There is a lot going on in the nose on this one. I detect dark fruits up front. Figs and raisins. I get some smooth vanilla. Bourbon is present, but not overpowering. Some bitter cocoa. Sweet toffee and caramel mix in as well. You can detect the 12.5% ABV in this aroma.

This beer has as complef a flavor as it does aroma. Vanilla first, with some fig/raisin flavors. Bourbon is present, more dominate in the flavor than the aroma. It has a very sweet caramel flavor. It is damn sweet.

This beer is very full bodies. It warms the mouth, throat, and stomach on the way down. This beer is low in carbonation, fitting the style.

This beer is definately a sipper. The very aggressive flavor and the high alcohol content make this one hard to put down by myself, but I think I will manage.

Overall: I felt that the 4th of July would be as good a day to crack open the $22.95 bottle. I have been sitting on it for a while. I am glad that I opened it. It is great. Firestone Walker is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. This beer is great and will last all night long. (1,265 characters)